Sanitary toilet seat cover dispensing machine



Oct. 10, 1939. N. ALTIERY SANITARY TdILET SEAT COVER DISPENSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2'7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 10, 1939. ALTIERY 2,175,553

SANITARY TOILET SEAT COVER DISPENSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2'7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SANITARY TOILET SEAT COVER.

DISPENSING MACHINE Nicholas Altiery, Philadelphia, Pa. Application'January 27, 1938, Serial No. 187,308 2 Claims. (Cl. 4-247) This invention relates to sanitary toilet seat the spool I between the. vertical parallel guide cover dispensing machines particularly adapted plates [4 and over the guide roller l5 journaled for public lavatories, in brackets 15' suspended from the top of the It is an object of the invention to provide a cabinet on a horizontal plane with the level of 5 mechanism associated with a toilet bowl includthe toilet seat. The strip passes across the top 5 ing a continuous strip of individual seat covers of the toilet seat and is trained over the guide adapted to be moved across the seat of the toilet roller l6 mounted in brackets I6 suspended from and supply a clean cover for the seat upon each the top of the cabinet on the opposite side of the operation of the machine. bowl, passing down between the vertical parallel A further object of the invention resides in guide plates I? with its free end connected to 0 providing a-coin controlled mechanism for movthe spool l8 which is rotated by a spring motor ingthe continuous strip of seat covers a prede- 9, to wind the strip of covers on the spool l8, termined-distance upon each operation of the as the strip unwinds from the spool I0. The mechanism and arresting the movement of the spring motor I 9 consists of a casing 20 attached strip to properly aline the individual seat covers to the rear wall of the cabinet having a coil v? with the seat of the toilet. spring 2| disposed therein, one end of the spring Another object of the invention resides in probeing attached to the periphery of the casing, as viding a mechanism of the above-mentioned at 22, while the opposite end is attached to thecharacter which is simple and durable in conrotatable bearing 23 having a socket to receive struction, attractive in appearance, reliable and one end of the spool shaft 24, the opposite end 20- efiicient in operation and inexpensive to manuof the shaft being mounted in the bracket facture. slidably mounted in the base 26, which permits Other objects and advantages of the invention removal of the spool when desired. A crank 21 will be apparent during the course of the followis adapted to be attached to the free end of the 25 ing description. shaft 24 for rotating the shaft to wind the spring 25 In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the spring motor before attaching the strip of of this specification and in which like numerals covers to the spool [8.

are employed to designate like parts throughout The movement of the continuous strip of covers the same: is controlled by stop pins 28 carried by the plate Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the machine in- 29 extending transversely of the strip. The pins 30 stalled in a lavatory, project from the plate 29 adjacent its upper edge Fig. 2 is a front view of the machine with the and engage the marginal edges of the strip, for

front wall removed, entering the openings 30 formed at spaced in- Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, tervals throughout the length of the strip. The

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, pins are projected into the openings by springs '35 Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2, 3| mounted thereon and each of the openings are and, suitably reinforced to prevent tearing. Brake Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4. shoes 32 are adapted to engage the peripheries In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of of the spool flanges being carried by rods 33 sup- (0. illustration, I have shown a preferred embodiported by the plate 29, adjacent its lower edge ment of my invention, the numeral 5 denotes a and springs 34 mounted on the rods 33 normally metal cabinet built around the toilet bowl 6 with hold the brake shoes in applied position. A rod an opening 1 in the top wall, in register with the 35 extends from the center of plate 29 which extoilet seat 8. A continuous strip of individual tends through an opening 36 in the upstanding 46I-'seat covers 9 is adapted to move across the top bracket 31 attached to the bottom of the cabinet of the toilet seat 8, the same being constructed and a spring 38 mounted on the rod 35 between Of pape 0 O e u t le a e ia e Seat the plate 29 and bracket 31 normally urges the covers 9 are supplied to the maC ine in roll Wound plate 29 in the direction of the strip. The bracket on DO 0 W ch is journaled in brackets l l 31 also carries guide pins 31' on opposite sides 50.."and at O S de Of the i t O ea h of the rod 35 which project through openings in bottom of the cabinet. The bracket I2 is slidably the plate 29 and springs 38 carried by the guide mounted in the base l3 so that it may be moved pins urge the plate to operating position. The outwardly to permit removal of the spool ID to free end of the rod 35 is bent upwardly and fiatreplenish the supply of seat covers when necestened to form a tongue 39 which engages the .The strip. of covers pass. upwardly from teeth of the. star. wheel 40 mounted on theshaft extends through the path of the coin.

4| journaled in the bearings 42 formed integral with the bracket 31. The spool ID has associated therewith brake shoes 43 and stop pins 44 carried by a plate 45 and a bolt 46 extending from the center of plate 45 is slidably supported by an upstanding bracket 41, the free end of the bolt 46 being engaged by the teeth of a star wheel 48 mounted on a shaft 49 supported by the bracket 59. A spring 5| mounted on the bolt 46 between the plate 45 and bracket 41 normally urges the plate towards the strip and springs 52 normally hold the brake shoes in engagement with the peripheries of the spool flanges, while springs 53 project the stop pins 44 into engagement with the marginal edges of the strip. Guide pins 53 project from bracket 41 through openings in the plate 45 and carry springs 54' which urge the plate to operative position. The shafts 4| and 49 at one end are equipped with pulleys 54 and 55 connected by a crossed belt 56, so that movement of the shaft 4| is imparted to the shaft 49, for simultaneously releasing and stopping the movement of the strip at points adjacent each of the spools l and I8.

The star wheel 49 is actuated by a reciprocating bar 51 slidably mounted in a bracket 58 attached to the end wall of the cabinet having a pawl 59 pivotally attached to the lower end of the bar for movement in one direction only. A spring 69 having one end attached to the pawl and its opposite end to the cabinet normally holds the pawl in position for operative engagement with the teeth of the star wheel on upward movement of the bar 51, but permits the pawl vgto fold against the bar and pass the teeth of the star wheel on downward movement of the bar. A cable 6| is attached to the upper end of the bar 51 and passes through a conduit 62 extending between the cabinet and box 53 housing the coin controlled mechanism for operating the cable. The upper end of the cable is trained over the guide pulley 64 and is attached to the swinging lever 65 pivotally attached at one end to the rear wall of the box 53, as at 55. The free end of the lever 65 is bent at right angles and the arcuate slot 61 in the front wall of the box to provide an operating handle 68 for the lever. A spring 69 normally holds the lever 65 in its starting position and a hook 19 extending laterally from the lever 65 is normally engaged by the pivoted latch bar 1| which locks the lever 65 in its starting position. The latch bar 1| is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, as at 12, the free end of the bar being disposed within the lower end of the coin chute 13 in The coin chute is pivotally mounted in the box 53 by a pivot pin 14 and is normally held in alinement with the coin slot 15 and end of the latch bar by a spring 16. A cable 11 having one end attached to the lower end of the coin chute is trained over guide pulleys 18 and 19 having its opposite end attached to the lever 55, so that upon movement of the lever 95, the coin chute is swung into alinement with the coin receptacle 99 for depositing the coin therein.

In order to disinfect the strip of covers before and after using, a spray 8| is mounted adjacent the strip on each side of the toilet bowl, being connected by conduits 82 with the germicide holding receptacle 83 attached to the back wall of the cabinet, the germicide being discharged from the receptacle by a pump plunger 84 connected to the arm 85 attached to the shaft 85 mounted in brackets 81, the free end of the shaft having a crank arm 88 attached thereto which is disposed' in the path of movement of the teeth of the star wheel 40. Upon rotation of the star wheel the pump plunger is actuated to discharge the germicide from the sprays 8| onto the surface of the strip. The receptacle 83 receives its supply of germicide from the container 88 through the conduit 89'. A register 89 is mounted adjacent the front wall of the cabinet being supported by the bracket 99 attached to the end wall, so as to be visible through the opening 9| in the front wall. The register denotes the number of seat covers remaining on the roll and is operated by a chain of belt gearing 92 which is connected by a belt 93 with the pulley 94 on the end of the shaft 4|.

In operation, the spool |0 containing the roll of seat covers 9 is mounted in its brackets in the cabinet and the strip of covers is then trained over the toilet seat 8 and connected to the spool l8, after the spring motor |9 has been wound by turning the crank 21. With the control mechanism in the position shown in Fig. 2, the stop pins 28 and 44 will be engaged with the openings 39 in the marginal edges of the strip 9 and the brake shoes 32 and 43 will be set against the peripheries of the flanges of spools I0 and |8, thus arresting the movement of the strip. Upon insertion of a coin in the slot 15, the coin will drop in the coin chute 13 and rest on the end of the latch lever 1|, thereby causing the latch lever to rock on its pivot 12 and become disengaged from the hook 10. The lever 65 is then moved by the handle 68, which allows the rod 51 to move downwardly under the action of the spring 60 and at the same time pull the cable 11 which swings the coin chute 13 away from the latch rod, so that the coin is discharged into the coin receptacle 80. On return movement of the lever 65, the rod 51 is pulled upwardly causing the pawl 59 to engage with a tooth of the star wheel 40 thereby turning the shaft 4| which through the belt 56 imparts a corresponding movement to the shaft 49 on which is mounted the star wheel 48. As the star wheels 49 and 48 turn, the rods 35 and 46 are retracted by engagement of one tooth of the wheels with the upturned ends of the rods, thereby releasing the brake shoes 32 and 43 and retracting the pins 28 and 44 from the openings 39, so that under the action of the spring motor |9 the spools l8 and ID are free to revolve moving the strip 9 across the toilet seat and bring a clean cover into register with the seat. The star wheels only move the rods 35 and 46 a sufficient distance to release the stop pins from the holes 30 and then immediately releases the rods so that the pins return under the action of springs 3| and 53 into position for engagement with the next holes 30 of the strip. At the same time the strip is moved, the pump 83 is actuated to discharge a germicide through the sprays 8| onto the surface of the strip, to disinfect the used and clean covers. The register 89 denotes to the user the number of covers remaining on the roll.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that certain changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a toilet seat cover dispensing apparatus, the combination with a toilet bowl, of a pair of spools rotatably mounted on opposite sides of 15 the toilet bowl, a continuous strip of seat covers connected to said spools and trained over the seat of the toilet bowl. A spring motor for rotating one of said spools to wind the strip thereon, stop pins engageable with openings in said strip for arresting the movement of said strip, brake shoes for engaging the flanges of said spools, movable supporting means for said stop pins and brake shoes, means for moving said supporting means to simultaneously retract said pins and brake shoes and manual means for operating said last mentioned means.

2. In a toilet seat cover dispensing apparatus, the combination with a toilet bowl, of a pair of spools rotatably mounted on opposite sides of the toilet bowl, a continuous strip of seat covers connected to said spools and trained over the seat of the toilet bowl, a spring motor for rotating one of said spools to wind the strip thereon, stop pins engageable with openings in said strip for arresting the movement of said strip, movable supporting means for said stop pins, a rotatable star wheel operable to engage said movable supporting means and retract said pins to release said strip, a reciprocating bar for operating said star wheel, a hand lever for actuating said reciprocating bar, a germicide spraying mechanism operated by said star wheel for spraying said strip and a coin controlled mechanism for locking and releasing said hand lever.

NICHOLAS ALTIERY. 

